How the Marauders Came About
by KPtheMoviesaholic
Summary: Ever wondered how James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter came up with their codenames? Discover how they met, befriended, and found out Remus's secret...Marauders Era. EDITED AND REVISED. A short three chapter I thought up .
1. The Meeting

How the Marauders Came About

**A/N: A plot bunny that wouldn't stop invading my head till I wrote this story down! A correction, by the way, to my Mini Hogwarts (with the marauders calling their nicknames before the 'transformation,' but if I make any mistake, corrections are welcome!) This is just an intro to their adventures…maybe it'll be just a two-chapter.**

**Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me…they are JK's, sadly. **

**Chapter One—The Meeting**

A messy, black-haired boy with glasses in his T-Shirt and jeans standing at Platform nine and three quarters, hidden from ordinary Muggles, sighed at his parents one more time.

"Mom," he started to turn away. "I'm eleven! I'll be fine on my—" He stopped in mid-sentence when his mother pulled him into a tight hug.

"Don't ever cause trouble there," she said through gritted teeth. "You hear me?" With his release, the boy nodded in a fast and rapid motion, causing his father, who had the same messy, couldn't-be-flatten-down hairstyle, to shake his head wearily.

"If you ever do so," the mother wagged a finger at her son, "I'll ground you for a month!"

"I think that's enough, honey," said the father, pulling his wife back gently. "Be a good boy, James, and off you go!"

"Bye Dad, Bye Mom!" James Potter yelled as he boarded the train, waving and disappeared.

On the other side of the train station…

"Behave, alright?" said a bossy fat lady, glaring at her tall, thin son with long, black hair. "And make sure you get into Slytherin!"

"Right, right, Ma," the thin boy muttered in boredom. "Keep your hair on!" To his surprise (and horror), his Ma actually shrieked.

"Don't you ever say that to me again, Sirius Black!"

"What? It wasn't a big deal anyways," he mumbled under his breath before heading away. "See y'all later!"

"That boy," sighed Sirius's mother, worried.

Next to them stood…another thin, brown haired boy and his father…

"Be careful, Remey," he warned. "Have your potion with you?" Remus Lupin nodded, "Yes, Dad."

"And the books to read on the train?" more questions were asked.

"Check," confirmed Remus, gathering up his stuff and turned to his father. "I'll write, promise."

"Good son," they hugged before parting for the first time…to Hogwarts, the magical boarding school.

And so, the three different boys got on the train, without knowing that somehow their paths would cross…

Remus Lupin was reading, a thing he always did, which had earned him the nickname 'bookworm' from his parents…and strange stares from other boys, who had never looked at him in a different angle, other than 'the nerd.'

Suddenly, a knocking on the compartment door interrupted his Merlin adventures.

"Excuse me?" James Potter poked his head in.

"Yes?" said Remus, looking up from his book.

"Can I sit here, then?" asked the new boy, and was answered by a simple nod from Remus.

As James settled down, he leaned in to peak at the title of the book Remus was reading. "Ooh, Merlin's Adventures, eh?" he said in a mocking tone, causing Remus to stop once more.

"Seriously man," began James. "Do all you ever do is reading?"

"Uh," shrugged Remus. "Well…"

Another boy broke in. "Whoo hoo!" yelled Sirius Black. "'Ello, buddies! Mind if I join your little…" he glanced around at the stunned Remus and puzzled James, "…reading party?" he finished, Remus wincing. Here he was, ready to make new friends, yet another boy had called him 'nerd' to his face.

"It's cool," said James, smiling, somehow feeling 'close' to this new boy. "Got a seat reserved right here," he tapped the seat beside him.

"O—kay!" Sirius jumped in without delay.

"So hi," Sirius started the conversation, "I'm Sirius Black, and you guys?"

"The Black family!" exclaimed Remus.

"Forever pure," quoted Sirius, "Yeah, they all went to Slytherin. Been doing a study, haven't you?"

Pink dots appeared on Remus's face. "Er…sort of," he mumbled. "I just read a book on—"

"Never mind him," waved James, "Move on to me! I'm James Potter, nice to meet ya!"

"Same to you," they shook hands. "You? Bookworm, have a name?" asked Sirius.

"What? Um…me?" Remus's face was blank. Did they…actually want to know his name?

"Yeah, you," added Sirius. "Except there's another boy with brown hair here," he grinned.

"I'm Remus Lupin," uttered Remus at last, the other two boys echoing, 'Oh I see!' jokingly.

At that moment, a small, short boy came in. "We're approaching Hogwarts…er, I think," the boy said rather unsurely. "I'm P-Peter Pettigrew, by the way," he stuttered.

"Greetings, Pete," chirped James, as Peter continued. "So, um, better change into your robes now," he quickly went away.

"That was weird," commented Sirius.

"That lil' guy was so scared!" laughed James.

"I'm sure we'll have a great time together at Hogwarts," said Remus rather sarcastically.

Sirius and James shrugged at the same time, then high-fived. "Yeah!"

Remus rolled his eyes.

**A/N: Ok, a bit short, but this was originally a one-shot, so yeah. Chapter two's coming up!**

**Reviews and Hits are most appreciated.**

**Love to all,**

**Your ever humble fanfic writer :).**

**PS. I won't be updating Mini Hogwarts for a time, going to make some corrections!**


	2. The Full Moon

How the Marauders Came About 

**A/N: Chapter Two!! Enjoy! I actually have to type this two times, without any draft, from memory, because my computer messed up… **

**Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me…they are JK's, sadly. **

**Chapter Two—The Full Moon **

_First Year, September _

"Whoa, did you see that tree they just planted over there?" James pointed out the window at the new Whomping Willow.

"It's—kind of scary," squeaked Peter. "I—I'd rather not go near there."

Instead, Sirius and James caught each other's eyes, James saying, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Sirius shook hands with his best mate, "We're definitely going to check it out, yeah."

"Deal."

"I—I don't think you guys should go," the duo turned at Remus' sound, "It might not be safe," Remus' face was pale, and as he wasn't the tricksters masterminds like James and Sirius, obviously he was lying.

"How do you know about it?" questioned Sirius, edging closer to Remus.

"I—I just do," stuttered Remus, not meeting his friends' curious glances.

_First Year, December _

"Any of you seen Remus?" Sirius came panting into the common room, James shrugging.

"I searched everywhere, Siri. He's not here," James gave Sirius a confused look.

At that moment, Peter bumped into them both.

"OW."

"Sorry guys, uh—I just seen Remey," Peter looked up.

"Then where—"

"—Is he?" Sirius and James said continuously, eager to know.

"Oh it's not that exciting," Peter sat down, "He told me his mum's sick. That's all."

The best mates heaved a sigh, "Typical Remus."

_First Year, March _

"You guys," said Remus, stopping his reading, "I—I might not be able to—"

Sirius looked up curiously, "—Join the late night club tonight?"

"What's the matter, Remey?" even Peter was wondering.

"I—um—got detention," Remus mumbled, running out of excuses.

"That's weird," remarked James, thinking of how many badly 'bizarre' things had happened to Remus once a month…

At the same time as the full moon…

"Anyways, sorry, just enjoy it for me, okay?" with that, Remus left the room.

"Don't you think it's almost impossible for a bookworm to get detention?" Sirius said thoughtfully.

_Second Year, February _

"Hey, Remus!" called James Potter excitedly as his friend stumbled through the portrait hole with armful of books.

"What is it now, James?" asked a very tired Remus, as he slumped on the red couch. "I've got loads to do…a Transfiguration homework for McGonagall, fifteen inches for Binns, a potion essay due tomorrow—"

"Enough, Remus," said James, putting his hands up to stop his worried friend's rambling. "I don't want to hear about your homework load…"

"So?"

"Well," James crossed his hands over his chest, a playful smile upon his face. "We're second years now, and I wonder if…"

"If we could go explore school a bit tonight!" said Sirius, who appeared from nowhere.

"N—N—No," stuttered Remus, looking at the calendar. "I can't."

"Why not?" retorted James in mock hurt. "Afraid McGonagall's going to catch us? Come on, it'll be fine!"

"Got a date or somethin', huh, Remey?" asked Sirius, as Remus blushed slightly. Always like this, thought Sirius. Remus would get all reddened or shy whenever anyone (normally it was either him or James, as Peter usually kept his mouth shut, and so was trusted by everyone in the group) remark or say anything about girls. Two years had passed since their first faithful meeting on the train, and yet not one of them had changed, not one bit.

"No!" said Remus, raising his voice. "I've got to go, and, like I said, I have a load of work to do." cutting off the conversation right there, Remus stormed up the boys' dormitories.

Sirius, James, and Peter looked at each other.

"Something's definitely up!" said James. "You know how he often 'disappears' with excuses once a month at the same time as the full moon?"

"Heck yeah, he's not a very good liar, isn't he? Ol' Remey is hiding a secret from us!" added Sirius. "A secret he doesn't want us to know!"

"Maybe he really has something important to do, guys," said Peter. "He might be doing his homework like he said."

The duo ignored him. "And we're going to find out!" James suggested.

"You bet, mate," confirmed Sirius, and they high-fived.

Peter rolled his eyes.

"Let's form a plan," began James, grabbing a piece of parchment and a quill. "Remus usually goes out at this time…" he noted it down on the parchment.

"And comes back…at this time…" said Peter.

"You said you weren't going to help!" whispered James.

"I didn't!" whispered Peter back in an even lighter voice.

"Oh let's get back to the point!" groaned Sirius, grabbing James's quill ("Hey!") and began writing. "I say we follow 'im in our—"

"Mine!" corrected James.

"Alright, Alright! _Your _invisible cloak!" said Sirius, bored.

"What if he sees us?" questioned Peter, but he was silenced by Sirius. "Shut it, Pete! No one sees through James's special cloak!"

"We begin the OGR—" James started to say.

"What's OGR?" Sirius asked.

"I was about to tell you, idiot!"

"Right!"

"Well I was!"

"Like you were…"

"I DID!"

"Hey, this sounds familiar," commented Peter. It had been two years, and, still, James and Sirius couldn't stop these petty arguments they always had.

After five minutes, they stopped.

"We begin Operation Get Remus at nine o'clock sharp," said James. "Be there, or be square!"

"Sure thing, pal!" grinned Sirius.

"I don't have a good feeling about this…" mumbled Peter.

At Nine…

"Psst!" a shadow from the dark touched Sirius, making him jump. "It's me, James!"

Sirius sighed, and so did Peter. "I just saw Remus went out a couple of minutes ago, looking rather painful…" added James.

Sirius looked puzzled. "Maybe…"

"You don't think…"

"Period?"

"Are you out of your mind, Sirius Black?!" asked James, stunned.

"Just joking, mate, just joking!" Sirius laughed so loud James and Peter had to shush him up. "Why'd you have to be so serious?"

"Serious or not," said James, grabbing Sirius. "You better come with me now!"

They were walking along a deserted corridor when Peter, the last of the group, stopped suddenly.

"What is it, Pete?" asked Sirius, ahead of Peter. "You know we have to stick together or else someone might see us!"

"It's…it's…." stuttered Peter, pointing at the floor.

"What?" asked James, annoyed.

"It's MRS. NORRISS!" yelled Peter, terrified.

Indeed, the red-eyed cat was there, looking up at them.

"Oh come on, Peter," said James. "Stop being a coward and follow us!"

"Wait, James?" said Sirius.

"What now?" James was pulling the group ahead, but now he was just stuck.

"I've always wanted to do this!" Sirius had a sly grin on his face. "Woof! Woof!" he 'barked' at the cat, James tugging his cloak.

"Sirius!"

"Ok, ok!"

"We might get caught! Follow!" James's voice was more forceful this time, to Sirius's and Peter's amazement at his leadership.

They continued walking, when they heard a strange noise…

"Si—Si—Sirius," stammered Peter, "You're not making any sounds, are you?"

"Hell no! I'm not!" said Sirius in fright.

"Then…" James was keeping a tight hold on Sirius's shoulders now, both shuddering in fear.

"What is it?" squeaked Peter.

They had finally reached the Weeping Willow. "Er…I don't know," said James, and, getting rid of his fears, added, "Let's go in there to see what it is!"

"You sure?" asked Sirius, afraid.

"We'll hold on together," confirmed James.

They did. While James cast a spell to stop the wicked tree, Sirius and Peter stumbled into the hole.

"Seems like it's some kind of a passageway leading us out of Hogwarts," said Sirius.

"To the Shrieking Shack?" wondered Peter, thinking about the most haunted house in Britain.

"Who knows!" James shrugged, him following them closely behind.

They reached the end of the tunnel, pushing each other up and found themselves, of course, in the old, ruined house.

"My word!" exclaimed Peter, unable to believe they were really there, but Sirius was quicker. "Look there!" he pointed. "Someone's crouching on the chair…"

Oh boy, did they see the most bizarre sight…

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me?" Sirius mumbled.

James rubbed his eyes, took his glasses out, wiped them on his cloak, and put them back on.

Peter squeaked like a rat in fright.

"Is—is—" stammered Peter once again at the transformation of their friend into a monster.

"—Remus—a--" continued Sirius, not able to end the sentence.

"—a werewolf?" finished James, hardly believing in the sight before his eyes.

"So that's why he has to go see McGonagall every month!" realized Sirius.

"Why he keeps looking at the calendar!" exclaimed James.

"Poor Remey," sympathized Peter. "Morphing like that must be painful…could we do anything to help?"

"Yes! That's it!" James snapped his fingers. "I've got an idea!"

"What?" asked Sirius and Peter at the same time.

"I'll tell you once we get back to the dorms," said James, pushing Sirius. "Now let's just go!"

**A/N: And so began the Marauders' Tale…thun, thun, da! **

**Cookies for all reviewers and readers! **

**Love to all, **

**Your ever humble fanfic writer :) **


	3. The Idea

How the Marauders Came About

**A/N: Chapter Three's here!**

**Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me…they are JK's, sadly. **

**Chapter Three—The Idea**

The next morning, when Remus Lupin woke up, he was in shock. His friends were crowding around his bed!

"What is…going on here?" he asked groggily, still recovering from last night. "It's neither my birthday nor my…um…death!"

"Remus, Remus, our dear Remus," said Sirius, sitting down beside Remus and pulling him close.

"We know," whispered James.

"You mean…" Remus was in wonder; how did they manage to figure it out?

"The fact that—that—you—are—a—werewolf," Peter squeaked, Remus wincing in pain. "Yeah, we do."

"Then what are you guys going to do about it?" Remus asked, sitting up.

"We," in an animated motion, Peter, Sirius, and James all raised their hands to their hearts in the 'pledge' way, "James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, solemnly swear we would never, ever tell anyone of our friend Remus Lupin."

They all burst out laughing, Sirius suggesting, "We could do the unbreakable vow, if you like!"

"Nah, it's ok," chuckled Remus, "I trust you guys, and hope you trust me too."

James's face became serious. "Really, Remey, we want to find a way to help, and I knew how,"

"What, you're not risking danger because of me, isn't it? When I'm a werewolf, it's like I'm turned into a monster, you know, I'm not me…anymore," he confessed.

"Animagi!" cried Sirius in excitement, Remus in fright. "No…it's too…risky, you wouldn't do that…for me…"

"We know it's illegal," began James.

"And it's challenging," added Sirius.

Peter simply whimpered.

"So that's why we want to do it!" chorused the duo, making Remus shake his head. "Seriously, you guys!"

"Yeah, we are taking this seriously," said James. "So better follow me to the library now!"

"Now I've never heard that before," muttered Remus, smiling.

"James Potter, library," said Sirius, "Equals impossible!"

The three friends went there, James sneaking into the restricted section to get the book on Animagi.

"Look here," pointed James, "Says that we can morph into any animal we like,"

"Wonderful!" that was Sirius, clapping his hands together in delight. "I can be a tiger or something."

"Don't be silly!" warned Remus, "You'd want to be something…er…better."

"Lion?"

"Come on!"

"Shush!" James turned his attention back to the book. "I'm trying to concentrate here! Erm, to morph into an animal, we must imagine ourselves as the animal and must have a lot of practices."

"Then morphing back?" asked Sirius.

"Same thing," said James, "We only have to figure out what we are going to morph into. I guess I'll be a stag. It's my favorite animal, graceful and majestic," he pointed at Sirius. "And you, Siri, will be a black dog—"

"Wha—at?" squawked Sirius. "Why'd you get to be a—a—majestic stag, and me a dog?"

"Think about it, pal," reasoned James, "You'd be the one to fight off—er—protect (James changed his word at Remus's expression)—Remus, whereas I would look out for everyone."

"Have it your way," Sirius pouted, Remus comforting him, "Besides, your name 'Sirius' means the dog stars up their, anyways."

"Thanks, Remey, that was helpful. Kind of," Sirius said, but didn't actually mean it.

"What about me?" Peter wanted his share, too.

"See, your voice's squeaky, and you're small, so you'll be a…." Peter looked up, hopeful. "A rat."

"A rat!"

"Most suitable!" James added. "You could sneak into anything, imagine that, and any escapes would be easy to cover," Peter nodded.

"Then names," Sirius thought this up. "We must've codenames, so nobody will know our secret!"

"Great idea, Siri," James grabbed a parchment and quill, as was his usual habit of recording things. "A stag…what would you call a stag?"

"Rudolf?" suggested Peter with a weak smile.

"Pete! I don't have a red nose!" claimed James

"Ok, ok," Peter stopped, sighing.

"What about…erm…Sharpie?" said Sirius, thinking about the sharp horns of a stag.

"Now we're talking," James agreed, "But Sharpie sounds somewhat like a marker to me."

"So what do _you_ want?" Sirius was annoyed now.

"James," called Remus, "Speaking of Sharpie, Prongs is also what you call the sharp antlers."

"Cool! I'll take that," James hugged Remus. "Thanks, Remey."

"No problem, Mr. Prongs!"

"My turn!" Sirius said eagerly. "What do you call a black, handsome, graceful—"

"How could a dog be graceful?" interrupted Peter, but everyone ignored him.

"Blackie?" James grinned, Sirius acting beyond disgusted. "Oh no, James! Not another one of your 'pet names!'"

"Wolfie?"

"I said no!"

"Hairy?"

"Er…no.."

"Bobby?"

"That's just nonsense!"

"A…Fluffy?"

"Too girly."

"Paddy?"

"Sounds…like…"

"Yeah," Remus confirmed, "A Paddy is a leveled field flooded to grow rice, but that's not the point," he stopped at Sirius's glare.

"Though Pad…and foot, could be nice," muttered Sirius. "Yep, I'll be Padfoot, the fluffy, cute, lovable—" Peter acted as if he might vomit. "—dog."

"And you, Remey, what would you like to be called?" asked James in his as-a-matter-of-fact tone, Remus laughing.

"Me. Well…"

"Somethin' related to the moon, then," suggested Sirius. "Even though you hate it…"

"Wolfie…might not work, but," James said, "Try Moony!"

That just snapped. "It's cute…" Remus pretended to think, "But I'll take it."

"You, Pete?" asked Sirius, tapping at the table impatiently.

"Ratty?" Peter himself said, his friends all shaking their hands. "What?" he asked, disappointed. "Doesn't this sound like…Moony?"

"Not in the same way," explained James. "Try Whitey,"

"How do you do I'll be a white rat!"

"Dunno…"

Sirius took a try. "Something…wormy-ish,"

"What am I with worms?" worried Peter.

"Remember that week when you accidentally swallowed a can of worms?" Peter's face distorted as he thought, cringing at the memory.

"Ew, so, that didn't taste good"

"A rat must have a tail…" added Remus and was replied with 'Duh's' from Sirius and James.

"Then," Sirius put two and two together. "We'll call you Wormtail."

"Oh fine," Peter admitted. Even though he wanted a better name, it was good enough that his friends accepted him into the group by choosing something to call him.

"Group's name!" James waved his hand in the air, from left to right. "It's got to be something majestic, something cool…"

"The Four Ani—" Peter stopped in mid sentence when they all stared at him.

"Do you want us to be arrested?" Sirius sighed. "It's silly."

"Go by the…the…Super Gryffindors!"

"Cheesy," commented Remus. "Sounds like something out of the Superman."

"What about the Marauders?" their ears flickered at the sound from Remus. "Means cool people who sneaks out, do fun things…well, basically describes us."

"Ok, the Marauders!" everyone agreed, they all holding hands. "Long live the Marauders!"

Lily Evans, walking pass that second, shook her head in disgust, "How childish, Potter," her girlfriends giggling in a flock after her, they went away.

"Oh, but Evans!" James cried helplessly after her, Sirius patting his back. "It'll be ok, come on, we've got to practice,"

"O…kay," James rather reluctantly followed his friends out of the library…and thus, began the adventures of the four Marauders…

**A/N: Might come back to edit later, who knows, but what do you think? It was just my idea. I'm hopelessly obsessed with the Marauders right now ;). **

**Love to EVERYONE…**

**Your ever humble fanfic writer :).**


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